Fully Involved Leadership

Successful Strategies in Leadership from the Firefighter to the Fire Chief

By: Gary Ludwig

Narrated by: Frank DiPiazza

One of the fire service’s most well-known and respected leaders reveals principles and events that have shaped his career and leadership values that no “cookie-cutter” leadership or management book can provide.

The real-world experiences and lessons that are vividly detailed in the audiobook provide a road map for any aspiring firefighter wishing to be promoted, a company or chief officer looking to go to the next level, or a fire chief who wishes to further develop their leadership skills. Fully Involved Leadership, written by Chief Gary Ludwig addresses the tenets of leading firefighters at all ranks and levels, and provides a blueprint for not only motivating firefighters but inspiring them; not showing them how much you know, but how much you care; that leadership is not a position or title - it is an action and examples; reminding you that rank does not equate to leadership, the inverted table of organization, and much more!

Fully Involved Leadership is filled with powerful leadership topics and at its core addresses the values of trust; the two key qualities needed to be a fire service leader - character and competence; how to keep your emotions in check by using I before E - intelligence before emotions; how to keep from making a wrong decision; why it is important to show honor to your firefighters, plus a whole lot more!

Chief Ludwig offers warm and engaging stories of not only his experiences but other chief officers and how they learned from their mistakes when it comes to leadership. Chief Ludwig provides insights and hard lessons learned that make you reflect upon the question, “Who would you follow if your life depended upon it?

©2019 Gary Ludwig (P)2020 Gary Ludwig

How to lead the correct way

A must listen for every fire officer and future officer that want to leave it better than when they started.

Chris

Every member of a volunteer, combination or career fire department/company should listen to this book. Just because you aren’t a leader today, doesn’t mean you won’t be one tomorrow. Be prepared!

Solid!

I really enjoyed this book! I can see how this book can be beneficial to all fire service organizations!

Good book for Checking yourself as a leader

Good book if you are a new supervisor or a way to check yourself as a supervisor of a crew. Will be looking into his other books.

Fully Involved Leadership is a must read!!!

Fully Involved Leadership by Chief Gary Ludwig is an excellent read for anyone in the fire service. Each chapter provided insight into the challenges, expectations, and common-sense solutions supplied by someone who has lived and experienced leadership in the fire service. As I read through the chapters, I thought about my own experiences and how much a leadership guide would have been invaluable before I had to learn these lessons independently.

I would highly recommend this book (and Chief Ludwig’s other three books) for anyone hungry and looking to expand their leadership knowledge and understanding. Fully Involved Leadership is a terrific tool to experience vicariously so many of the challenges the average fire service leaders will face.

The “Take-Aways” at the end of each chapter provided a clear leadership "To-Do" list for you to develop your knowledge, skills, and abilities. The “Contemplations” from the chapter are an excellent self-reflection tool to look at yourself and dive deeper into your thoughts and “Philosophy of Leadership.”

Jim Keiken
Deputy Director - Illinois Fire Service Insitute
Assistant Chief - City of Madison Fire Department - Retired